


Distance

by The Miss Paramount (Hanamuraki)



Series: Coup de Grace [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Blood, Body Horror, Drinking, FuraPura, Hallucinations, HoloCaster, Litleo - Freeform, Lysandre's dreams, M/M, Miare City | Lumiose City, Xerneas - Freeform, Yveltal - Freeform, perfectworldshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:20:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23238337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanamuraki/pseuds/The%20Miss%20Paramount
Summary: Nobody said distance was easy. The third installment of Coup de Grace.
Relationships: Fleur-de-lis | Lysandre & Platane-hakase | Professor Augustine Sycamore, Fleur-de-lis | Lysandre/Platane-hakase | Professor Augustine Sycamore
Series: Coup de Grace [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1471778
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Distance

**Winter, Mid January 20XX**

**Somewhere in Kalos**

Lysandre was on a private flight to Snowbelle City. His new senior scientist sat across him, he was an extremely pale man with almost transparent blue eyes that he hid from the sun under the strangest sunglasses Lysandre had seen. He grinned and looked at the freshly-poured glass of whisky.

“Seigneur, I thank you for the opportunity to work with you once again. I know this is no small venture for you.”

“Has Augustine called?” Lysandre interrupted him quite abruptly. He had given his personal agenda and phone to his senior scientist’s assistant, Aliana so he rarely had the chance to look at his messages or emails privately.

“Augustine?”

“Dr. Sycamore.” Lysandre answered exasperated.

Xerosic waved his hand impatiently.

“Aliana has mentioned that Dr. Sycamore hasn’t tried to contact you since the last time.”

Lysandre sighed heavily and looked away. “The last time” was at the beginning of the year, exactly after Augustine left for Sinnoh, mere days after Lysandre hired Xerosic. “The last time” was so catastrophic that Xerosic seized complete control over Lysandre’s personal communication devices and ensured that there were no bottles or sharp things in the newly acquired Fleur-de-Lis Labs. “The last time” had ended so badly that Lysandre spent a whole week in the hospital, hooked to several machines. He wasn’t dying but his resistance to eat or drink anything that was not alcohol made it impossible to keep him alive otherwise. He refused the sedatives and all the attempts to be fed. He claimed that all he wanted was a full night of sleep to be over with the whole situation.

After Lysandre discharged himself against medical advice, he ordered Xerosic and his new team of scientists not to speak a single word of what happened there. They received instructions about not informing the Du Fleuriots and more specifically, not to inform Doctor Augustine Sycamore about the situation under any circumstance. 

“If I find out that any of you leaked any information, you will be out of the company immediately.” Lysandre said, as calm as he could be in his hospital bed.”And if I ever find out that either one of you informed Augustine Sycamore about this, I will take further action..”

“Isn’t Augustine Sycamore your boyf…?” A young woman with vibrant blue hair interrupted Lysandre.

“Get out of here.”

Lysandre snapped out of his thoughts.

“Xerosic, have we found out more about the Mega Evolution theorem?”

“Not yet, Professor Linden is very hermetic about this.He’s particularly secretive about the unfinished work Dr. Sycamore left behind. I believe that he must have made some interesting advances but lacks the infrastructure to test them here in Lumiose. I believe we should…”

“We are not consulting Augustine.” Lysandre said. “This is final.”

“But what if I told you that he knows more about this? You know? I had the  _ pleasure  _ of working with him but he left the project. The project was very compromising for his reputation.”

“Xerosic, I don’t want to talk about this right now.” Lysandre said, as calm as he could sound.

The overhead signs lit up and Lysandre was impossibly annoyed but thankful about landing in Snowbelle soon. Perhaps Professor Linden was right and all he needed to deal with the breakup was a quick vacation. The De Langle part of the family owned an old mansion atop one of the most imposing peaks in Snowbelle City. When they landed, Lysandre dismissed the crew and insisted on taking his own luggage uphill. 

But Lysandre’s mind was racing about what Xerosic said.

**A few days later, 20XX**

**Snowbelle City**

Lysandre, thought Xerosic, was impossible most of the time but he would obsessively bring Dr. Sycamore to the conversation as if he wanted him there badly and had found a replacement in him and the other scientists but in the end, he was never satisfied with their meetings. They all knew that he was still fond of him and that his departure had left a hole and that Lysandre was every bit as vulnerable as he was dangerous. 

He had hoped that Lysandre would think about what he said about Dr. Sycamore, which was partially true: they shortly collaborated in a research project which Sycamore decided to forfeit after he decided that it didn’t align with his ethics. A project he was terrified of. A project that needed a scientist like him, regardless even if Xerosic hated to admit it.

“Aliana… has Dr. Sycamore called?” Xerosic asked. He anticipated the answer. He knew that Dr. Sycamore was persistent.

“Every single day.” She answered simply, looking at her computer screen.. “There hasn’t been a single day in which Seigneur Du Fleuriot hasn’t received a call from him. Or a message. He’s much less stubborn these days, he mentioned that he was leaving for a town in the mountains… wherever the hell he is.”

Xerosic bit his lip. His mind was working.

“Make sure you don’t leave a trace of those tonight.”

“Where is Seigneur Du Fleuriot?”

“Oh, probably trying to kill himself at the ski slopes. He keeps trying so hopefully it will make Sycamore call him.”

“You probably shouldn’t talk about the boss like that.” A soft, elegant voice interrupted them.

A tall and slender woman stood at the door of the cabin that Xerosic and his scientists shared. She had pink hair and orange-tinted glasses.

“Malva.” She said, “I take it you’re Xerosic and these lovely ladies are Aliana, Briony, Celosia and Mable, am I correct?”

Xerosic made a horrible noise.

“Like I said. Don’t speak about Lysandre like that unless you want to end up… a little bit bruised.”

“Is that a threat, Miss Malva?”

“Just a statement.”

Xerosic removed a Pokéball from his waist just as Lysandre walked in.

“What is going on here?!” His voice was loud as thunder. The small Litleo he carried on his arms growled. It was clear he didn’t like Xerosic at all. 

“Malva introduced herself,” Celosia said. The atmosphere was as tense as a violin string.

“Great.” Lysandre said, gently posing the Litleo on the sofa, where it stretched and yawned.

“When we go back to Lumiose in a couple of days, each one of you will have a very specific task. This includes you, Xerosic.” Lysandre started. His face was red from the cold outside. “Listen carefully. You four will start researching Mega Evolution as an energy source independently from the University. You will find a set of specific tasks delivered to you on Monday. You’re dismissed for now.” 

The four girls looked at Lysandre, they nodded and slowly walked outside.

“Xerosic, Malva, I have private affairs to discuss with you.” He sat and poured some whisky for himself, ignoring them completely. “Darius Linden knows more than he is letting out about what Augustine… Dr. Sycamore is doing in Sinnoh.”

“What makes you think that?” Malva asked. She lit her cigarette at the fireplace. “We could ask Dr. Sycamore directly if that is what concerns you. Sinnoh is just a flight away.”

“We’re not using him.”

“Seigneur, you are being difficult.” Xerosic chimed in. “There are hundreds of scientists willing to delve into Mega Evolution and they will be more than eager to work for Fleur de Lis Labs.”

“I’m afraid I have to agree with Xerosic.” Malva said. “Why didn’t you offer a job to Sycamore if you wanted him to work with him so badly?”

“I did make an important offer to Dr. Sycamore.” Lysandre’s voice quivered. Malva had to look away from him since his stare was so intense it was physically difficult to look at him. She anticipated the response and used her best judgement not to add anything. 

“We can research independently while he is away.”

“We are doing it regardless. From what Bryony was able to find, Augustine… Dr. Sycamore has an agreement with the University and Professor Rowan but it’s fully confidential. They are not letting him go and he is reporting his findings to them. That’s all we know.”

Malva opened her mouth. Xerosic made a strange noise.

“I believe Augustine Sycamore is closer to cracking Mega Evolution than anyone else in the University or our laboratories. His research with the University was important enough for him to be able to keep his contract.”

“So essentially, you want us to bribe Professor Linden to give us details about Augustine’s whereabouts and what he is doing?” Malva chuckled. “I’m sorry, Lysandre, but I’d rather use my skills for something else.”

“Xerosic?”

“Fine. I will be taking my leave. Perhaps I can get Linden to talk.” Lysandre nodded and Xerosic walked out furiously.

Lysandre poured more whisky into his glass. Malva sat by his side.

“You’re being extraordinarily difficult for something seemingly simple.”She began. “For all we care, I can shoot him and make him talk and we would be over with at least 50% of this mess. If I didn’t know better, I would only say it’s because Sycamore is way more capable than any of the scientists that you poached from the university. But no. This is personal, Lysandre.”

“It is not… it is not that.” Lysandre’s voice had a tremulous tone. Malva could have sworn she saw tears forming in his eyes. “I… Augustine and I…”

“Then?”

“It’s nothing.” Lysandre looked away, trying to regain the usual hauteur in his expression. “It’s not what you think.”

Malva gave Lysandre a smile.

“You know what, boss?” She began. “Augustine hasn’t stopped calling you since day one.”

**Mid february 20XX**

**Lumiose City**

Malva’s revelation made Lysandre spiral into another depth of his personal hell.

He rarely felt safe anywhere except for Augustine’s old apartment. Other places were simply full of people he couldn’t trust. The new Fleur de Lis Labs felt unsafe and menacing. He rarely slept at his apartments anymore.

Augustine’s decorations were intact.

Oliver, the Litleo, watched helplessly from Augustine’s couch how Lysandre wept quietly and worked throughout the night. He wasn’t entirely sure but the small creature seemed to genuinely care about him and simultaneously miss Augustine as much as he did.

During the early weeks of the year, Lysandre came up with an advanced set of blueprints of what would later become the HoloCaster. He had envisioned it as a device to bring the whole Kalos region closer.

Closer.

As an afterthought he imagined it could also become a good espionage tool.

Taking advantage of Augustine’s old workspace, he tinkered with new bits and prototypes until he had a working one. It sure was very clunky, but it seemed to perform the essential functions Lysandre had programmed into it. He had to make another prototype to verify the call functions but at that point, he only wanted to test the basic capabilities.

_ “My name is Lysandre Du Fleuriot, I’m in Lumiose City, in Kalos.” _ The miniature hologram of himself narrated from Augustine’s desk. Lysandre observed that his voice sounded terribly depressed.  _ “Today is Valentine’s Day, 20XX and it’s snowing. This is the first test transmission ever made with Fleur De Lis Labs’ most recent development, the HoloCaster. Today I want to talk to you about Kalosian History.  _ (“Talk to you? Who?” He thought helplessly.) He saw the hologram Lysandre pick one of Augustine’s books from an old bookshelf. “ _ Long time ago, there was a war that ravaged the land…” _

Lysandre laid back and looked at the ceiling. He felt Oliver curl on his lap.

_ “... there was a weapon that sapped the energy from all living creatures....” _

He recalled very distantly that his grandparents had some history books about The War in Kalos and how the Du Fleuriots acquired their titles and lands. He remembered he had been in shock so long after reading the outcome that in a frenzy, he almost jumped from a window and was sent to the hospital when he was 12.

_ “... it is said that the ancient weapon was buried in what we know as Geosenge Town today.”  _ Hologram Lysandre closed the book and stared at it with a mix of disgust and discomfort. Oliver pawed at the small image, stopping it completely. “How do you like this, mon petit?”

**A few nights later. 20XX**

**Lumiose City**

During the endless nights at Augustine’s apartment, Lysandre had gone through his books and the unfinished papers he had left behind. He stopped at a History one. Of course, the books he had at home in Fleuriot told a different story. He wondered if there was a specific reason why nobody talked about that topic at home. The books in Augustine’s apartment didn’t spare the macabre details from a scientific standpoint. Some of them talked about the mythological specifics of the weapon and how it was powered. 

After drinking several bottles of wine, he felt sleepy and warm. His vision was blurry when he saw a flash of red and black feathers. He woke up and rubbed his eyes, trying to fix them on the shattered bottle.

As he picked the glass shards, Lysandre suddenly remembered the nightmare he had when Augustine slept at his place.

He remembered a pair of wings growing from Augustine’s pale shoulder blades. He swore he could smell the blood from the wounds on Augustine’s back. He couldn’t ignore the pair of antlers on Augustine’s forehead that crowned him with precious stones.

The images in Augustine’s books were oddly similar to his nightmares. Lysandre remembered that every night after that, Augustine would walk to him and would spread his wings, ignoring the wounds on his back and his forehead, looking at Lysandre with an ever-tender and loving expression and leaving him with a dreadful feeling. 

He was surprised to see real blood on his hand after the nightmares. He wasn’t sure how he drew a piece of glass across his palm.

He called Professor Linden. 

“Darius?” He asked.

“Oui, j’ecoute. It’s 3:00 AM, Lysandre, is everything okay?”

“I have been having these nightmares again.”

“Lysandre, let’s meet at Prism Tower, we can walk somewhere afterwards.”

“And can we talk about Augustine?”

Professor Linden stopped. A silent confirmation came Lysandre’s way after a few seconds.

**Late night. 20XX.**

**The back alleys of Lumiose City**

Professor Linden knew all sorts of shady places in Lumiose City after spending a few years chasing after Augustine and saving him from bar fights on several occasions . Despite his upbringing as an aristocrat, he was well aware of those dark, private places in which one could discuss equally dark and private matters. Lysandre found him outside a small place in one of the most secluded back alleys in Lumiose. The sodium lights illuminated him through a cloud of smoke. Lysandre thought he looked impossibly tired.

“Alors, Lysandre.” He said, looking at him. “What in the name of Arceus happened?”

Lysandre was flawlessly dressed as always but Professor Linden couldn’t help but notice the deep circles around his eyes and the blood on his hands.

“I’ve been having these nightmares again…”

“Lysandre…” Professor Linden’s voice imitated Augustine’s in a way that almost broke Lysandre’s heart. “What in all hell happened to your hands?”

“It’s nothing… I...I’ve been having these nightmares again.”

“I know, boy. Come in, I will get you fixed.” Professor Linden’s voice still mirrored Augustine’s. 

He pulled them both into the small café. He gestured at the owner, who promptly brought him a bottle of alcohol and some bandages. 

After patching Lysandre’s hands as best as he could, Professor Linden finally ordered a drink.

“Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on, Lysandre?” Professor Linden asked. “You know? This reminds me of Augustine and not in a good way. I don’t know what’s going on with you, Lysandre. You decided to take a sabbatical from your program and simultaneously started up a laboratory with goals that are oddly similar to Augustine’s. Now you just appear from nowhere and your hands are almost destroyed. What the fuck is going on?”

Lysandre opened his mouth to say something. He finally acknowledged the pain in his hands.

“I’m sorry Darius… I wanted to ask about Augustine’s research.”

“Augustine’s research or your feelings for him?” Professor Linden laughed, his voice was cold. “Because you’re handling this worse than he is.”

“What do you mean?”

“Augustine is far more brilliant than he gives himself credit for. The guy is an absolute genius. You already know that and I don’t know why you sent this fucking weirdo to try to make me talk.”

Lysandre’s eyes were wide open.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know, Lysandre. He said he worked for you. The fight ended in less than five minutes. I’m surprised that you couldn’t hire someone more capable than this glorified thug.”

“I’m sorry. I sent him to negotiate. I didn’t think…”

“Lysandre.” Professor Linden’s voice was his usual self. “I do not need to mention that Augustine’s research is of extreme importance to the university and that no one but him is more capable of understanding evolution and a potential Mega Evolution. With that said, I don’t think your scientists are particularly adept at that. Augustine has mastered his craft for years and I think your lead scientist is just another opportunist and I pray you don’t fall for what he tells you.”

“He wants to help, Darius.” Lysandre said sipping on his coffee. “He wants to help people. He is a good person”

“And you have the means to support his plans?”

Lysandre looked away. He pulled the HoloCaster and played his own recording to Professor Linden.

“How… How did you get interested in this, Lysandre?” He asked. His face went blank. “It’s… how did you find this?” Professor Linden was shocked. “I mean, whatever you used to record this is amazing but… How did you find this?”

“I found one of Augustine’s books and an unfinished thesis about energy sources in Kalos. He collaborated on it years ago. I didn’t know his work was also related to that.”

Professor Linden finished his drink. He stared at the small device on the table.

“Augustine worked briefly on a project along with some scientists from other universities. He decided to revoke his participation upon deeming the studies and experiments far too dangerous and abusive towards Pokémon. That’s why he completely refocused his theory but along the way… there was something he found about the ruins outside of Geosenge town that made the university pull their funds away from them. This was shortly before he met you.”

“But you said he was in Ambrette town recovering.”

“He was ill for some time after he decided he won’t be taking part in those experiments.. He did report his findings to the university and they were groundbreaking. The investigation team had nothing on his findings and they pushed us to release Augustine's research. There was a considerable sum involved.”

“Why did he not tell me this?”

“It’s a hard subject for him, Lysandre. You have to respect that.” Professor Linden said. He ordered another drink.”The main point here is that the project lead was a man named Xerosic. Sure rings a bell, non?”

Lysandre was secretly horrified.

“Do better next time you hire someone. While competent, this guy wants nothing but power.” 

“He is a very competent and humane scientist, Darius.”

Professor Linden stopped again to light a cigarette. “Which brings me to the next point.”

Lysandre stared at his cup of coffee. He remained silent.

“Please, if you want to remain alive and well don’t send anyone to threaten my family again.”

“I…”

“Don’t say anything.” Professor Linden said. “There are some things that are better left alone. That includes the paper you found. Don’t push it and please, if you ever see Augustine again, don’t ask about it.”

“But Darius…”

“Augustine has been calling you every single day. He hasn’t forgotten about you.”

**Early March 20XX**

**Somewhere in Kalos**

Weeks later a young girl with a Raichu was abducted from Santalune Forest. The news made it to distant regions. The Kalos Police Department was unable to provide any answers to the family pushing them to seek help from independent detectives. As their last strand of hope began to disappear, Professor Darius Linden received a call.

“I know where your daughter is, Linden, you just have to cooperate with us.”

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Kinsale, who is my eternal best friend and the one who encourages me to keep writing.   
> Thanks to everyone who is out there still reading me <3


End file.
